Detachable hand guard for knives



Oct. 29, 1963 P 3,108,375

DETACHABLE. HAND GUARD FOR KNIVES Filed May 21, 1962 INVENTOR. Fhwazw PP: PP

United States Patent 3 168 375 DETACHABLE HAlilD GUARD FOR KNIVES Andrew Papp, Grafton, Ohio, assigner to Regis Plastics, Grafton, Ohio, at company of ()hio Filed May 21, 1962, Ser. No. 196,230 2 Claims. (Ci. 36-295) This invention relates in general to a hand guard for a knife and more particularly to a detachable type of hand guard for a knife.

Detachable hand guards for knives to prevent the hand of the user from'slipping off the handle portion of t e knife onto the cutting blade thereof during use, are known in the art. However, these prior art arrangements have not been entirely. satisfactory in that the detachable guard has not always been able to be maintained in desired position on the knife blade, and often times has become loose. Moreover, the prior art arrangements have generally not been able to be easily secured to the knife, and/ or have not been able to be easily detached from the knife, when it was desired to do so.

The present invention provides a detachable hand guard for a knife wherein the guard is comprised of two separable sections having a passageway or recess formed therein adapted to receive therethrough the blade of the knife, and including means on the guard adapted for coaction between the guard and the knife blade, to lock the guard in positive predetermined position on the knife blade adjacent the handle portion of the knife.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel detachable hand guard for a knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel detachable hand guard for knife wherein the guard as means thereon for positively holding the guard in predetermined position on the knife blade.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel detachable hand guard for a knife, wherein the guard is able to be readily detached from a knife and reassembled onto another knife, when for instance the first knife becomes worn or damaged to the point of non-use.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel detachable hand guard for a knife of the type having a shoulder on the cutting edge adjacent the handle portion of the knife, and wherein the guard comprises two separable block-like members having complementary formed recesses therein on the confronting faces thereof defining a passageway adapted to receive therein the knife blade including the shoulder on the blade, and including detachable means coacting between the block-like members for holding such members in assembled encompassing relation on the blade, and wherein at least certain of said detachable means coacts with a slot in an edge of the knife blade, to hold the guard in fixed position on the knife.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a guard of the latter mentioned type, which is rugged in construction, long wearing and economical to produce, and highly effective to protect the hand of the user from slipping down onto the knife blade.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a hand guard constructed in accordance with the invention, and as mounted on a knife;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view, taken generally along the plane of line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of one of the block-like members forming the guard, and illustrating in particular the passageway forming recess in a face thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view illustrating one section of the guard mounted on the knife blade adjacent the handle portion thereof, and illustrating the slots in the knife blade adapted for holding coaction with threaded members which are adapted to attach the separable sections of the guard together.

Referring now again to the drawings, there is illustrated a knife 10 having a blade portion 12 which in the embodiment illustrated has a cutting edge 14, and a non-cutting edge 16. The knife also has a handle portion 18 which may be made of any suitable materials and which, in the embodiment illustrated, is secured to the hits by rivets 2.0. The knife illustrated is one which may be utilized in industry for cutting up rubber slabs or the like, but it will be understood that such knife could be utilized for many other purposes. The cutting edge 14 of the knife blade is disposed laterally outwardly or downwardly of the handle 1-8 of the knife, as best shown in FIG. 4, and the cutting edge terminates in a shoulder portion 22, which in the embodiment illustrated slope's diagonally inwardly toward the handle 18 of the knife, and then turns as at 22a into parallel or coplanar relation with the handle.

The hand guard 24 is comprised of two separable sections 24a, 24 11, which are separable along parting line 26, and which guard sections are adapted to clamp the knife blade therebetween when in mounted fastened condition on the knife. Such separable sections are preferably of the block-like configuration illustrated, and have rounded corners 28, to prevent injury to the hands of the user.

Each guard section 24a, 24b comprises a generally planar surface 29 having a recess 30 therein formed complementary to the portion of the blade of the knife adjacent the handle 18 of the knife, and adapted to receive the blade therein in encompassing relation in the assembled condition of the guard on the knife. -It will be seen that in the embodiment illustrated, the top edge 31 of the recess 30 in the respective guard section is disposed substantially horizontal or longitudinally extending while the :bottom edge 32 of the respective recess is first diagonally disposed for receiving therein the aforementioned shoulder 22 of the knife blade and then extends longitudinally for receiving aforementioned portion 22a of the blade. Each guard section is also provided with aligned openings 36, 36a therethrough which are adapted to receive a threaded member, such as a socket head cap screw 38, 38a therein, for holding the guard sections together in encompassing clamped relation on the blade of the knife. The heads of the screws are preferably received in counterbored sections of the respective opening as shown.

The non-cutting edge 16 of the blade is preferably provided with a notch 40 therein adjacent the handle portion of the knife, and which notch receives the threaded member 38 in coacting relation for locking the guard onto the knife blade, and against relative longitudinal movement. The shoulder 22 of the knife blade coacts in the recesses 30 in the side-by-side disposed guard sections, for likewise locking the guard against forward pivotal movement about the upper fastener member 38. The knife blade 12 adjacent the juncture of shoulder portions 22, 22a is also preferably provided with a slot 42 through which fastener 38:; is adapted to extend and to coact in such slot 42 to further lock the guard on the knife. It will be seen therefore that the guard 24 is prevented from lengthwise movement on the blade even if fasteners 38, 38a should become somewhat loosened, due to the coaction of such fasteners in their respective slots 40, 4-2 in the knife blade.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the recess 3% in the respective guard section may be tapered to conform to the transverse taper of the knife blade, or in other words, conform to the taper of the knife blade down to the cutting edge 14 thereof. As best shown in FIG. 4, the lower portion of the guard preferably extends a greater distance from the cutting edge 14 than the upper portion of the guard extends from the non-cutting edge 16 of the blade.

The guard can be readily attached to and detached from the associated knife, and when in attached condition, is locked in positive position on the knife blade and against movement with respect thereto, and provides a highly effiective guard for protecting the hand of the user from slipping down onto the knife blade. If the knife becomes worn or damaged to the point of non-use, the guard can be readily detached from the associated knife by merely removing fasteners 38, 38a, and then such guard may be reassembled onto a new knife, thus providing obvious savings, in those environments where considerable wear and tear on the knife is occasioned by use.

The rear surface 46 of the guard provides a smooth abutment for the hand of the user, and protects such hand against injury during use of the knife.

From the foregoing discussion and accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the invention provides a novel detachable hand guard for a knife and wherein such guard embodies means for positively preventing relative movement between the guard and the knife, even when the knife is used under extremely hard working conditions.

The terms and expressions which have been used, are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of the features shown or described, or portions thereof, and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In combination, a knife that has a generally longitudinally extending blade and a handle, and a detachable hand guard for said knife, said guard comprising a pair of laterally oriented completely separable but generally juxtaposed sections extending generally transverse of the blade adjacent said handle, each of said sections having a generally planar surface disposed in confronting relation with the corresponding surface on the other of the sections, each of said surfaces having a recess therein defining in conjunction with the recess in the other section a longitudinally extending passageway receiving therein the blade, said passageway being defined by generally longitudinally extending upper and lower boundaries of said recesses, each of said sections having transversely spaced openings therein generally perpendicular to the respective recess, and located on said boundaries, so that the peripheries of said openings extend partially into the respective recess, said openings in one of said sections being aligned with the corresponding openings in the other guard section, said blade having slot means therein in alignment with respect of said openings, and fastener means extending through said openings and said blade slot means, and coacting between said sections generally perpendicular to the lade, for holding the sections together in encompassing relation to the blade, said fastener means coacting in generally abutting relation with said slot means in said blade, for aiding in preventing relative movement of the guard with respect to the blade.

2. In combination, a knife that has a generally longitudinally extending blade and a handle, with the blade having a shoulder protruding laterally outwardly from the handle at least adjacent the juncture of the handle with the blade, and a detachable hand guard for said knife, said guard comprising a pair of laterally oriented completely separable but generally juxtaposed sections extending generally transverse of the blade adjacent said handle, each of said sections having a generally planar surface disposed in confronting relation with the corresponding surface on the other section, each of said surfaces having a recess therein defining in conjunction with the recess in the other section a generally longitudinally extending passageway receiving therein the blade and associated shoulder, said passageway being of a configuration generally complementary to the configuration of said blade adjacent said handle, and defined by generally longitudinally extending upper and lower boundaries of said recesses in said sections, each of said sections having transversely spaced threaded openings therein generally perpendicular to the respective recess, and located on said boundaries thereof, so that the peripheries of said openings extend partially into the respective recess, said blade having slots in the edges thereof, and said slots in said blade and said openings in one of said sections being aligned with the corresponding openings in the other guard section, and threaded fastener means extending through said openings and said slots and coacting between said sections generally perpendicularly to the blade for bolding the sections together in encompassing clamped relation on the blade, said fastener means coacting in abutting relation with the defining boundary of the respective of said slots for aiding in preventing relative movement of the guard with respect to the blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,239,626 Sebring Sept. 11, 1917 1,574,641 Christopherson Feb. 23, 1926 1,737,656 Gore Dec. 3, 1929 1,754,543 Callum Apr. 15, 1930 2,901,824 Zullo Sept. 1, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 218,227 Great Britain July 3, 1924 

1. IN COMBINATION, A KNIFE THAT HAS A GENERALLY LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BLADE AND A HANDLE, AND A DETACHABLE HAND GUARD FOR SAID KNIFE, SAID GUARD COMPRISING A PAIR OF LATERALLY ORIENTED COMPLETELY SEPARABLE BUT GENERALLY JUXTAPOSED SECTIOINS EXTENDING GENERALLY TRANSVERSE OF THE BLADE ADJACENT SAID HANDLE, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING A GENERALLY PLANAR SURFSACE DISPOSED IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH THE CORRESPONDING SURFACE ON THE OTHER OF THE SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID SURFACES HAVING A RECWSS THEREIN DEFINING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RECESS IN THE OTHER SECTION A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING PASSAGEWAY RECEIVING THEREIN THE BLADE, SAID PASSAGEWAY BEING DEFINED BY GENERALLY LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING UPPER AND LOWER BOUNDARIES OF SAID RECESSES, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING TRANSVERSELY SPACED OPENINGS THEREIN GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE RESPECTIVE RECESS, AND LOCATED ON SAID BOUNDARIES, SO THAT THE PERIPHERIES OF SAID OPENINGS EXTEND PARTIALLY INTO THE RESPECTIVE RECESS, SAID OPENINGS IN ONE OF SAID SECTIONS BEING ALIGNED WITH THE CORRESPONDING OPENINGS IN THE OTHER GUARD SECTION, SAID BLADE HAVING SLOT MEANS THEREIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH RESPECT OF SAID OPENINGS, AND FASTENER MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND SAID BLADE SLOT MEANS, AND COACTING BETWEEN SAID SECTIONS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE BLADE, FOR HOLDING THE SECTIONS TOGETHER IN ENCOMPASSING RELATION TO THE BLADE, SAID FASTENER MEANS COACTING IN GENERALLY ABUTTING RELATION WITH SAID SLOT MEANS IN SAID BLADE FOR AIDING IN PREVENTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE GUARD WITH RESPECT TO THE BLADE. 